Memories of a forgotten tale
by Tired and bored
Summary: Hei's past set in the Fairy Tail universe. A broken and lost Hei returns to the guild after years of battle and loss. Will they remember him, and can he leave his past behind? First FanFic, expect slow updates. Rated M for safety and for the future.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own neither Darker than black nor Fairy Tail.**

 **This is my first fanfiction, and since I am no fast writer and have little time, it might take ages to publish another chapter. I appreciate constructive criticism, regarding language or story. And since I am no expert on the subject Fairy Tail, feel free to correct any mistakes made by me.**

It had gotten dark outside. Only one man was still sitting at the bar, talking quietly to the one standing next to him, and thus disturbing the heavy silence in the guild hall. Their appereance was as different as it could be. One of them was tall and muscular. His brown hair was slicked back, and reached to the beginning of a long, black cloak. The other one, a man whose hair slowly turned gray, had the sillouette of a tiny old man. One of them had been drinking since sunset, and the other one, who arrived just an hour ago had decided that he was expected to join him. Their conversation had started with a cheerfull greeting and a few friendly words to each other, but turned slowly into a quiet, serious conversation.

"It has gotten worse in Alakitasia", the tall man mumbled. "Some kind of powerfull mage with the bility to grant non-magicuser magic powers has made his move. So far, the only ones targeted by him where children. We don't know his whereabouts, but the different factions are trying to gather as many children as possible. They fight their stupid war on the back of little kids."

The old man made a sad, angry looking face.  
"War never changes. The highest sacrifices are always made by the innocent."

"But so far noone seems to be interested in Fiore. The continent is currently in the state of a civil war, so they pose no threat to us. Which means that there is no reason for us to care, let alone intervening." the tall man concluded with a bitter face.

"Gildarts," the old man started "I know it sounds hard, but we cannot help everyone in this world. If there was a way, trust me I wouldn't hesitate a moment. Even if it feels wrong, we have to focus our attention on those next to us instead on those far away."

"I know, god dammit I know you're right, but that doesn't make it less hard to ignore the wrongdoing of these people." The man called Gildarts sighted. "Anyway, I'll be around for a couple of days, before my new quest starts. Master, I heard it before, we have newcomers again?"

The small man had a sad smile on his face full of wrinkles. "Yeah, we have gotten quite a few little ones since your last visit. It would be nice if you could entertain them for a while, making them forget the lives they have come from. Some of them had a really rough past."

Gildarts was about to answer him, when they were suddendly disturbed by a quiet knock at the guild door.

"Who would pay us a visit at this hour?" the tall man grumbled, walking to the entrance.

"It might be one of the kids. Some of them can't sleep at night, and the guildhall is one of the few places where they feel safe. No wonder, after all they've been through." his master answered him.

When Gildarts opened the door, he caught sight of a boy around the age of 12, carrying a girl about two years younger than him in his arms. The first thing Gildarts noticed was blood. Blood all over the girls stomach and the boys chest. Blood coming out of her mouth, blood on his hands, and blood dripping down on the stony way they were standing on. While processing his surprisse, Gildarts noticed that the boy was wearing a body armor over his dark blue shirt. He also had two knifes attached to his bodyarmor, one at each side. His black hair was a bit of an untamed mess, and he was looking at Gildarts with dark blue eyes, darker than he had ever seen before.

"My sister is wounded", the boy said. "I was told this is a place where I could get help."

It took Gildarts another second to realize what was off about this boy. But when he saw it it hit him like a punch in his face. The boy showed no signs of emotions, despite the fact that he carried his near-to-death sister.  
His eyes were looking like the ones of a dead man.

Shaking his head in order to regain a clear mind, Gildarts took the girl into his arms and carried her to the next table. The guild master was already on his way to the infirmary, looking for the next first-aid kit.

"Fuck" Gildarts cursed, as he cut the girls bodysuit open.

As soon as he saw the hole in the girls stomach, he knew that it was already too late. Not even an expert in healing magic would have been able to heal her. Given the fact that the girl was already unconcious from the loss of blood, he expected her only to have a few minutes left.  
He turned around to the guildmaster, who was carrying an arm full of bandages, and shook is head with a sad expression. The masters face slowly turned to stone.

"She won't make it", Gildarts said with a soft, sad voice, looking at the boy. "All what is left for you to do is to hold her hand in her last moments."

He put his hand on the boys shoulder, and pushed him gently to the table on which his sister laid, waiting for him to react in some way.  
The boy slowly took one hand of the girl into his.  
As their hands touched, the girl opened her eyes for the last time, whispering words into her brothers ear. Gildarts only understood the words "...last gift... thank you for..."  
Within her last breath, her and the boys body begann glowing blue, causing Gildarts and his master to take a step back.

After a few seconds, the glowing deceased. The boy turned around, and looked at the two grown-ups with his blank, emotionless face. A single tear begann sliding down his face.

He tried to open his mouth, but suddendly, the world around him became blurry, and his field of view turned black.

Gildarts bend down and catched the boy with one arm. He looked at the master with a questioning look. "Bring him into the infirmary" the older man said. "He definitely needs some rest. Tomorrow we will find out wether he fainted because of exaustion or the blue light."

The young boy woke up with a silent scream, sweat dropping down on his whole body. The first thing he noticed was the fact, that, for the first time in his life, he was laying in a soft bed. The room around him was unfamiliar, with mutliple beds being next to the one he had woken up in. That was when he noticed a second fact.  
"Oh no, not again" he mumbled, looking down on himself, and realized that he had once again wet himself. Pai never wet herself, and he still was a bit ashamed of himself when this happened from time to time. But Pai also never had nightmares. Being her older brother, he couldnt allow anyone to find out about this. He was the one to protect her, not the other way around. And thus nobody was allowed to find out about his weak moments. Be cold. Show no emossion. Show no weakness. He repeated these words in his mind like a mantra, clearing his mind from the unnecessary feelings and continued analyzing the situation around him. In his mind, he repeated the past weeks with the events that had happened. He remembered their escape from their country, and the men which chased them. The girl, his only friend next to Pai who had died in order for them to escape. How they had been chased all over different countries by the men who wanted Pais power, and how they had finally ended up in a country named Fiore. He remebered the fight with his pursuers, how they realized that they wouldn't get his sister alive, and how they had wounded her. Their deaths. His search for help. The beggar-kid who told him to go to the biggest building in the city, the guild Fairy Tail. And... the last moments of his sister.

His eyes widened as he remebered her last words "This is my last gift for you. Thank you for always protecting me, onii-chan".

Pai was gone.

The only reason left for his existence killed of by the men who where now laying dead on the rooftops of this city.

In his short lifetime, the boy had grown quite resistance to shocks.  
But this one was bigger than anything he ever experienced. The one person he had devoted his life to, his reason to endure every day of suffering was gone.

His mind went black again.

After starring at the wall for a few minutes, he heard someone slowly opening the door, followed by a few whispers and some giggles.

"I wonder if he has woken up already?" a high pitched female voice said.  
"Maybe he has seen a dragon" another voice said  
"I have to ask him. Maybe I can fight him after that. Gildarts said that he looked strong."  
"Baka" a third voice said. "All you ever think about are dragons and fights. Do you have any brain in your head left?"  
"Take that back, you striper-pervert" the second voice shouted angrily.  
"Guys please be quiet, grandpa told us to not go in here." the first voice whispered, but the other two were already busy shoving each other.  
As the boy turned finally his head in the direction of the door, he heard two hard knocks, followed by two cries of pain.  
"You idiots, follow the masters orders for once." a fourth, female voice sounded. "Do not disturb our guest, and leave him alone as long as he stays in this room!"  
"Hai, Erza-sama" the two male voices sounded in unisono.  
After the door closed, the boys mind drifted back into its absend state. But before he sank into the deep hole of sadness and regret, he decided that he had to act. The boy got up and left the bed. While looking around, he discovered two things. First, his combat clothes and weapons where gone. Instead of these he wore a long, white infirmary shirt, which covered his body down to his knees.  
The second thing he discovered was even more problematic than his missing weapons. The only entrance was the door the voices had been coming from, leaving him no choice but to walk right into his potential enemies.

Any other person wouldn't think of the people who had saved him as enemies, but years of war and betrayal caused the boy to learn an important lesson. Never trust other people, especially grown-ups. Thus the first thing he did was starting to search for potential weapons. Luckily for him, the master of Fairy Tail had forgotten to lock away the tools for medical treatment, resulting in the discovery of a dangerously sharp scalpel. With the help of bandages he managed to bind it onto the inner side of his upper leg. Deciding that wasting more time would be a disadvantage, the boy slowly moved into the direction of the door.  
He opened it a little bit, enabeling him to look through the small gap between door frame and leaf. A huge hall came into his field of view. The hall was full of banks and tables, with many people sitting and children running around, laughing and talking. The boys eyes widened. He had never seen this many peacefull people in one place. Clearly it had to be a huge festival going on. Deciding to use the commotion for his advantage, the boy slipped through the door. Sneaking near the wall, he quickly crossed the distance between him and the door. He was only a few steps away from the saving exit, when a voice behind him sounded. It caused his body to get ready to run, making him look like a wild animal, deciding wether to run or attack. "Where do you think you are going boy?" a girl, maybe 3 or 4 years older than him with red hair said. This caused everyone in the room to turn silent and look at the exit. They discovered the boy near it in frozen position.

"You should not move around in your condition" the girl said. "Don't worry, while some of us may look like it, nobody's gonna harm you" she said with a light smile while walking towards him.

The boy slowly reached for his scalpel, while looking at the girl walking towards him. Sudendly he noticed someone behind him.

"How about you..." Gildarts startet, while trying to lay his hand on the boys shoulder, only to pull it right back with a curse. Quicker than he could react, the boy had pulled his weapon and stabbed it into Gildarts hand. While jumping away from him, the boy was already being targeted by multiple types of magic. After he dogded two magic circles beneath and one next to him, he was bonded by magical chains which appeared out of nothing, restraining him and pulling him one meter up in the air. Slowly the guildmaster approached him.

"If we wanted to harm you, we would have done it already. And we could do it now again. But we still mean no harm to you. Do you understand me?" he asked the boy, who looked at him with a blank expression.  
"You have two choices," he continued.  
"You can leave whenever you want. Nobody is forcing you to stay here. These chains are merelly for our safety" he said with a smirk.  
"But we are also offering you to stay here and join our guild. No one can harm you here, and we would teach you to use your magic. This is a place where people experience friendship. We help each other and those in need. This is the number one guild in Fiore, Fairy Tail."

The master gave a sign to a guildmember, and the chains dissapeared. The boy fell down on the floor, and looked around him. Everybody looked at him. The girl with the red hair reached out her hand towards him.

His usual, blank expression slowly faded, turning into a face full of dread and despair, as he looked at all these friendly and happy faces.  
"I cannot join." he said and turned his back to the guildhall. "I can not even use magic"  
With these words he ran away, dissapearing into the night.

"Don't do it, Erza" the old man said to the red haired girl, who made an attempt to follow the boy. "He didn't leave because he couldn't use magic. You cannot save everyone in this world." He stepped next to Gildarts, who had covered his hand in bandages in order to stop the bleeding. "And sometimes we can't even save these right in front of us. Some people are meant to live alone and broken in this twisted world."

...

It had gotten cold. Usually the winter in Magnolia was moderate, but this year was different. The snow level went up to the height of a grown mans knee, and a cold, harsh wind blew through the town. The streets were empty, only those who had to left their houses. In the midst of everything, a small ship landed at the harbor. It transported booze, weapons and other goods the guards shouldn't know about. The captain, a man in his late thirties, with a thick black beard, rushed his men. "Hurry you fools. We only have little time, all the goods have to be gone from our ship until midnight. You" he told a member of his crew, "tell our guest that we have reached his destination"

"There is no need for that", a voice behind him said. An unshaved man appeared behind the captain. He was wearing a black coat, a grey scarf and a black cap covering his ears. Black whisps of hair peered from it. His eyes were dark, blue and empty. "Here" he said, "this is the rest of the money we agreed on, plus some extra for the alcohol i took in addition." The captain took the money, and looked after the man who walked off the ship.  
"So he didn't just look like a drunk, he really is one" he mumbled to himself.

"Should we get him back and try to get more out of him?" his crew member asked.  
He turned around. "Nah, leave him alone. Got a bad feeling about that idea. " Once the captain turned around again, the passanger was already gone.

Romeo was running late. He had told his father that he'd arrive at 10 pm, and now it was already 11, and he still had to run through half of the town. Still, they needed all the money they could get, and thus he would even take low-paying B-ranked quests. As Romeo came near the new guild-house, he noticed a grumbling coming from a dark alley next to him. He stopped, and slowly turned left. Romeo knew that at this time, the odds of some something good waiting in this alley for him were pretty low, but being fearless as he was, he steped into it. The first thing the boy saw was a bin. Then, right next to it he noticed a man lying in the snow with his eyes closed.

"Oy" he shouted, ""you can't sleep out here". He ran next to him, kneeing down on the mans level. Romeo tried to breath only through his mouth. The man in the snow smelled like he hadn't washed himself in a week. Romeo noticed a second smell, alcohol. The man was probably really drunk, numbing his sense of temperature and fell asleep in this alley. The grumbling, which had lured him into the alley was coming from the mans stomach.  
The boy sweatdroped. "Drunk, cold, tired and hungry?" he said. "Come on, let's get away from here." With some effort, he managed to get the drunk up, and supported him by grabbing his hip and laying his arm around his shoulders. Being closer to the drunk than before, Romeo noticed that the smell of the man got even worse.  
"Let's go, we'll find a nice and warm place for you."

The odd pair went slowly down the road. After going around a corner, Romeo spotted two people a few metres in front of them, walking into their direction. One of them had poofy dark hair, the other was wearing a cloak covering his face. With a bowed head, they passed each other. When they were past each other, Romeo heard one of them say: "Hey, aren't you the kid from Fairy Tail?"  
He didn't turn around and kept his head low, but the man continued speaking. "Yeah, now i recognize you, you little piece of shit. Trying to recruit hobos for your guild aren't you?"  
They both laughed.  
"Hey, catch this" the guy with the poofy hair said.

Romeo turned around and saw a stone flying towards him. He moved his head to the left. The stone missed him, hitting the drunk instead of the boy, and causing him a bleeding wound at his head. The men walked away laughing, while Romeo kept stumbling curses and apologies. The drunk waved them off with a shaking of his head.

"Don't worry kid, I habe been through worse, just get me away from here."

Romeo nodded, and kept moving towards the guild, a small run-down tavern.  
When he opened the door, he was greeted by a loud "ROMEO" from his father, the 4th guildmaster of Fairy Tail.  
"Hi dad," he answered, "sorry but the job took more time than expected. And on the way back i found this guy laying in an alley. I wanted to helo him, but now he is even more hurt because I made a stupid mistake." Macao saw the look on his sons face, and decided that a moral sermon could wait until the next day. He helped his son with the drunk, while breathing through his mouse with a slight look of distgust. "First we need to get a bandage for his head. Then, we're gonna do something about this smell."

After half an hour of hard work, they had managed to bandage the wound, had gotten rid of the old clothes the man had been wearing and had managed to clean his whole body from dirt and smell.

Right now, they were sitting in front of a small stove, and Romeo had fallen asleep on his farhers shoulder. Macao turned his face ro the stranger, who was covered in a blanket and was starring into the fire.

"I think it is about time you give me your name", he demanded. I am sorry if I appear to be rude, but we're currently facing a hard time, and aren't in a position to spread welfare. Plus, I saw the scars on your bodyl" he continued, "I need to know who I am dealing with.  
The man looked at Macao, nodded and turned his head back to the fire.  
"My name is Li Shengshun, but Li will be enough for now" he said with a grim look.  
"Regarding these scars, don't worry too much about it. They aren't your concern, and I promise that I am no threat to you and your guild."  
Looking satisfied, Macao reached his hand out to Li.  
"I suposse that is enough" he said, "so let's start from the very beginning. My name is Macao, and I am the fourth guildmaster of Fairy Tail. Welcome in our modest guild-house, Li-san"  
Li took his hand. "I am grateful for your help, especially to your son. Please tell him that after he wakes up" he said while standing up.  
"I have another suggestion," Macao said, "Why don't you tell him yourself? Sleep tonight in this house, and we'll discuss everything else tomorrow. Don't worry", he laughed after looking at Li's face, "we may be poor, but nobody can say that Fairy Tail doesn't look after his guests"

"I am gratefull for your offering" the young man said.  
"Don't think about it" Macao waved him off, and layed Romeo over his shoulder. "Follow me, I'll guide you to your place to sleep"  
He lead him into a small chamber next to the entrance hall. Li took a quick look around. The room was filled with a small bed, a chair and a cupboard. These pieces of furniture were enough to fill the whole room.  
It was definitely small, but he had sleeped in worse locations.  
"I know that it is nothing special, but I thought you'd prefer it over sleeping outside."  
Li waved him off. "I'll say it again, I am trully gratefull. This is better than what I had imagined" he said with an implied smile.  
After that the guildmaster wished him a good night and left the room.  
The man in the room put his head at the door, listening to the movements of the master. He heard him walking away, opening another door and closing it behind him. Li remained another 5 minutes at the door, before he turned around and got undressed. He laid the blanket on the bed as a pillow, and put the chair to the door, preventing it from being opened from outside.

...

Li woke up with a scream. Looking around him with a shivering body, he noticed three things: First, the nightmare was over, second, his head hurt, and third, that he craved for alcohol. Li got up and put the blanket around his waist. He removed the chair from the door and opened it. A pair of clothes was laying in front of his feet.  
2 minutes later he stepped out of his room again, only this time wearing a blue shirt and brown pants. He went to the entrance room, and saw Macao preparing a meal.  
"Oh Li-san, you're already awake."  
The mentioned nodded quietly.  
"How is your head," the master asked.  
"It got a bit better"  
"You're not much of a talker, are you hehe?" he laughed.  
"Well, I figured we needed something to eat, so I went ahead and started. Could you do me a favor and continue preparing the food? I need to see after Romeo, so I'll be back in a bit" Li nodded.  
"Oh, and by the way, you can have some of this" he said and pointed on a bottle at the bar. "Someone like you probably needs it. Even though I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't drink like yesterday", he said with a wink.  
He walked out of the tavern, leaving a silent Li behind.  
After Macao had left, he went straight to the bottle and looked at it. He decided that his body could wait for the alcohol, and turned instead to the ingredients, and continued the work of Macao.  
After about half an hour, the tavern door opened and a young pair with a child came in. The woman had green hair and wore a revealing ecowboy outfit. The man on the other hand had black hair and wore native like clothes. The child, clearly a mix of both parents, had dark green hair and wore a cowboy hat and a more child suited cowboy outfit.  
"We are back", they greeted unisono. After a quick look around, they noticed that Li was the only one being in the tavern.  
"And who are you?" the man asked with a friendly voice.  
"My name is Li Shengshun," he anwered politely. "The guild-master offered me to stay a night here"  
"Darling, where are our manners", the woman said, "this is my husband, Alzack Connell, our dear daughter Asuka and my name is Bisca. It's a pleasure to meet you, Li-san. A friend of Macao is our friend aswell."  
Li nodded, and continued to prepare the meal.  
It had been ages since the last time he had made a big meal, but he was confident enough that he would still be able to pull it of.  
Alzack observed the cooks face while he was mixing the dough. Li's eyes slowly turned darker, and he looked at his hands with a slight trace of disgust.  
After another couple of minutes, another pair entered the guild. This time, both were male, one tall with a fat belly and black hair, the other one thin with orange hair.  
They introduced themselves as Jet and Roy.  
When Macao finally returned with Romeo, they found the guildhall filled with the other members, who where drinking and eating.  
"I don't know where you found that cook" Droy told him with a full mouth, "but he cooks definitely better food than we ever had before."  
Macao grinned, and continued his way to Li, who was still standing in the small kitchen.  
"Jo Li-san" he greeted him. "I see that you cab handle yourself well in the kitchen."  
"Can we talk for a minute?" he asked him.  
Li nodded. Macao palced his hand on Li's shoulder and lead him outaide. The sun was shining, but the snow still went up to their knees.  
"Li-san, are you able to use magic?"  
"Why do you want to know?" he asked distrustfull.  
"As you know, Fairy Tail is a magic guild. I don't see a reason to hide the fact that we are currently one of the weakest among the guilds. But disregarding this fact, I'd like to offer you a place in your guild."  
Li's face turned blank.  
"I can use a little bit of magic," he said. "I am able to create some sparks. But thats about it"  
"That would already be enough" Macao said enthusiastic. "As a member of this guild you would be able to earn money by taking quests, or you could work as our personal cook. Of course we would pay you as well as the circumstances enable us" he said with a smirk.  
"Give me a few minutes" Li said, "I'll think about it"  
"Ok, if you have made your decision you'll find me indoors. And don't worry" Macao added, "even if you decline we won't throw you out immediatly".  
With these words he went back inside the tavern, closing the door behind him.  
'Fairy Tail', Li thought. 'It has been a long time.' Old memories of an almost forgotten night came back up.  
Even though he never felt the feeling of guilt or regret, he somehow felt the need to repay the guild members, for their help to a total stranger.  
These may only be the sucessor of his helpers, but he would do it anyway. Truth to be told, he also had selfish reasons.  
Li had no money left, and the way it sounded this was the perfect place to go into hiding and earn some money.  
He went back into the building, and found the guildmaster at the bar.  
"Have you decided yet?" Macao asked.  
Li nodded. "Yes, I have decided to join this guild. I'll also do some quests, but I'd prefer to work in the kitchen"  
"That is absolutly no problem," Macao said with a big smile one his face, and took Li's hand. "Welcome to Fairy Tail. Everyone" he shouted, we have a new member. Please welcome Li-san"  
The whole room started cheering.  
If someone would have watched Li carefully, he might have noticed that his facial expression went from normal to huffish, but this moment lasted only half a second.  
He would have prefered no attention at all. After all, there were still people searching for him, and he didn't want the guild members to make such a fuss about him.

An hour full of handshakes, eating and smalltalk (mostly onesided, since he stayed quiet most of the time) later, and with the Fairy Tail guild sign on his shoulder, Li went into the town, looking for clothes and some other things he needed. He still had some money left, so he started his "shopping trip" at the barber in order to change his appereance.  
Li left the barber with much shorter hair and without his untended beard. After that, he went to the next cloth shop and bought a few white shirts and blue pants. In addition to these, he got a new green jacket and a black coat aswell as a warm cap for the remaining wintertime. After that Li payed a visit to a blacksmith's store. The blacksmith, a master at his job had never seen the pair of special knifes Li asked him to make, and he promised he would do his best to produce them.  
The blacksmith told hin to come visit him again the following week.  
He returned to the guildhouse in the evening. Only Macao, Romeo, Bisca, Alzack and a girl with pink hair named Laki Olietta.  
They looked at him surprised.  
"Wow Li-san," Romeo started, "you look much younger now.  
"H-How old are you, Li-san?" Laki asked with a high pitched voice.  
"You sure look like 20 now" Bisca suggested.  
"I should be around 21 years old by now" Li answered with a smile, while scratching the back of his head.  
"You should be?" Romeo asked disbelieving. "How come you don't know your own age?"  
Li, cursing himself for his poor choice of words, kept the smile on his face.  
"I am pretty sure about it, but sadly I do not know the exact date."  
"Well, how about you try your first job, now that you are an official member of our guild?" Macao proposed, trying to change the subject.  
"Yeah, great idea" Romeo agreed excited. "You can join Biscsa, Alzack and me. We planned to go on an easy B-job tomorrow."  
"I don't know..." Li started with an uneasy smile, but Bisca waved him off.  
"Don't worry, it might be your first time, but we have fullfilled many jobs already. This one's gonna be no problem.  
Li looked at Alzack, searching for help.  
He gave him a look with the expression: My wife made a decission, so there's no point in arguing with her.  
Li let out a sigh.  
"That counts as an agreement" Romeo laughed, and made his way to the door. "We'll meet up tomorrow at 10 at the trainstation"  
"Hey" Li said with a desperate face, "I didn't agree on anything". But Romeo was already too far away to hear him, and the rest of the members just sat on the chairs and laughed.  
"Forget it, once that boy has made up his mind about something, he won't back down. Just like his father when he was younger"  
Alzack laughed, stood up and put his arm around Li's shoulder.

"I guess we'll see each other tomorrow"  
The pair left aswell, leaving Macao, Laki and Li behind.  
Li went to the kitchen in order to start preparing supper. Macao followed him.  
"So, you changed your appeareance aswell as your personality?" he asked curious.  
"I figured that that eould make things easier for both of us" Li replied, which was only partly true.  
He couldn't tell him that he changed everytime he got in contact with others, each time people wanted him to open up to them. This was easier, it allowed his real self to keep a distance to others.  
"Can't really argue about that" Macao said with an uneasy smile on his face. "But remember, as long as you are a member of Fairy Tail, we'll accept you for who you are, and there is no need to pretend being someone else."  
"I will keep that in mind"  
"The same goes for other things aswell," he continued "first the guild is like a family, the jobs are less important than the members themselves."  
Li's face went dark for a splitsecond. He remembered the little family he had had and their bloody fate.  
Macao noticed the change of his facial expression, and decided that it was still too early to talk about it.  
Li continued the cooking with a neutral expression.

It had gotten late, and Li almost finished washing the dishes.  
Macao stood next to him.  
"I wish you good luck with your mission tomorrow. I doubt that you will run in any kind of trouble. He turned around, and made his way to the door.  
"And one last thing. I normaly take it for granted, but just in case: We do not kill on our jobs. Fairy Tail is a legal guild, which means that we use other ways than lethal force. I highly doubt that you will run into a situation with this rate of danger soon, but mark my words. Take care of yourself."  
Li nodded, and Macao, with a sign of relief on his face, left the guild.  
With nothing left to do for the day, Li decided to go to bed early. In a small room, even smaller than his chamber, he washed himself. As Li looked up into the tiny mirror, he took a closer look to his face. Deciding that they had been around his face long enough, he removed the bandages covering his sleeve. The wound had healed fast, just like they always did. He went into his little room and put his clothes on the chair.  
An hour later, he was still laying wide awake on his bed, waiting for the nightmares to beginn.

...

One week later.  
"Oh man, I am beat" Alzack yawned while stretching. "Honey, we are finally back"  
Bisca copied his procedure, and gave Romeo a soft push.  
"You seem somehow unaffected by the lack of sleep, Li-san"  
The young man smiled nervously.  
"I guess I am used to it"  
Their conversation was interrupted by the train signal, which proclaimed that they had reached Magnolia.  
"Well" said Bisca, "we will drop Romeo of at Macao's place and go straight home after that. I'm sure Azuka wants to see us as soon as possible. What are your plans, Li-san?"  
"I still have some buisness left in town, and I'll probably start looking for a cheap apartment" he answered.  
Alzack nodded. "The reward was quite high, I guess that's a really good idea. See you tomorrow then"  
Li nodded, and a dead-tired Romeo waved as a goodbye.

He took the shortest route to the blacksmith.  
"Ah, it is you", the blacksmith grinned.  
"Guess what, I finished it even earlier than agreed. Here you go," he said, and put two large knifes on the table. "It was a huge piece of work, but I took it as a worthy challenge for a blacksmithmaster."  
Li took one of them in his hand, weighed it and nodded. The knifes blade was split into two equally long parts. The gap in between them ended in a ring, which was attached to the grip. It was heavy, but the weight felt familiar.  
"They come with a sheath each. You can attach them to any kind of belt. And be carefull with them. They are sharp as hell, but the steel is reinforced by magic. With enough force, they will probably be able to pierce stone, and won't loose their sharpness."  
"This is even better than what I had imagined." Li answered pleased. "Take this, you earned it"  
Gold and goods changed their owners, and Li left the store.  
The knifes had costed him nearly his whole reward money. It was an unpleasant, but necessary expense. With little left, he went into the next tavern, which looked too rundown for normal citizens to use. His last coins changed their owner, and Li finally got to know where he had to go.

The woman he encountered had black hair and a pair of green eyes. She had fine facial forms, and he saw a few freckles around her nose. Even Li, who normally did not care about appeareances or looks could tell that she was quite a beauty. Her body was slim, and she wore a tight jeans and a brown top. Her outfit led to the conclusion that she was immune to the cold, which caused other people to stay inside and even forced Li to wear a warm jacket, something he normally never did.  
"And who might you be, handsome?" she asked in an amused voice.  
Li ignored her question and reached his fist out. He opened it, and a small black bag appeared.  
"No name, no smalltalk? Well, fine by me, it's not like I would have told you mine anyway." she continued.  
The woman opened the bag, and pulled a small but expensive looking necklace out of it.  
He had stolen it from their client, after he had invited them to his house out of gratitude.  
Li usually did not steal, but his lack of money forced him to more desperate measures.  
He had made sure that nobody noticed him, and the former owner of the necklace would probably blame some maid.  
The woman named a price, not compareable with a normal store, but in exchange for security and anononymity a reasonable amount of money.  
Li nodded, and left the alley even more pleased.  
He needed enough money in advance for an appartement, and he h;ad no idea how he would be paid for his services in the kitchen.  
Relieved that he would not have to spend another night at the tavern, or even outside, Li made his way to another person the innkeeper had told him about.  
This one was an elderly woman, who let an apartement.  
Li approached her with a shy smile, and after a short interview they came to an agreement.  
He now had a small two-room flat with an extra bathroom.

"So? How was he?" the guildleader asked his fellow members.  
"I don't think you have a reason to worry about Li-san. He did a good job, even though he appeared to be pretty nervous around us." Bisca answered.  
"How did he act regarding dangerous situations?" Macao continued.  
Alzack made a thoughtful face. "I guess you could say that he prefers to avoid violence. He acted very deescalating, and stayed very defensive during our only fight."  
Macao's face turned into a mask of relieve.  
"C'mon, did you really think that he would be a dangerous person?" Biscas husband laughed. He looks like a shy kid, there is no way he would be that kind of a man."  
Macao smiled. " I guess you are right, I appear to be overcarefully these days. Thanks for taking care of Romeo."  
"Don't worry about it. See you tomorrow." Bisca hugged him, and Alzack shook his hand.  
The guildmaster waved, and looked after them as they left his house.

...

Two months later.  
Li's daily routine was simple. He started the day with his morning exercise, followed by experimenting with his magic ability, something he should have started earlier. Li knew that he was able to create an electric impulse, and he had never been interested in it before. Li could easily kill people with it. That had always been enough, but after a discussion with Macao about the basics of magic, and hours of reading in a bookstore nearby, he started to train his abilities.  
Two hours before noon he usually arrived in the tavern. Li had stated that he would rather work as Fairy Tail's cook than going on jobs, which caused a little bit of disappointment. He worked the rest of the day in the kitchen and at the bar, preparing food and drinks, cleaning dishes, and, after his first month, even took care of refreshing the stocks of the guild.  
But after two months of routine, Bisca finally managed to convince Li to take a job.  
"You are too young and too handsome to settle down in this kitchen.  
Don't you want to meet a fine girl? Well you won't find her in here.  
Don't you feel any urge for an adventure?

After days of arguements, Li finally agreed on a job. The greenhaired woman send him of with a victorious grine on her face and the words, that they would manage a week without his meals and drinks.

Li took his first look at the job Bisca had given to him. Apparently he had to deliver a package to a certain adress, where a woman would accept it.  
It would take approximately a week to get the package, deliver it and return to Fairy Tail.

Li arrived at the station of Fiore with a tired facial expression. The job had been exhausting, due to the lack of events. He had been traveling a full week, with no diversion possible. Since the package had been huge, he had not been able to move freely around. Li decided to sleep in his flat before returning to the guild. On his way trough the town he noticed that spring had finally defeated the snow, and the streets were filled with people. Two particular young men managed to get his attention and the of many other pedestrians. One of them had pink hair and was wearing a white scarf, while the other one had black hair and wore absolutly nothing exept for his pants. Their loud arguement caused many heads to turntheir way. From what Li understood it were mostly insults and mutual blaming.  
He sighed, turned left and entered a small alley leading to his apartement. Lost in thougts, he went past a bookstore, and was suddendly punched in the gut by a filthy looking guy with a long brown beard and a scar across his left eye. Li saw the punch coming, but decided to take it in order to give his opponent the feeling of the advantage. "Your money or your life, the robber demanded with a raspy voice.  
Li caught a glance over the man's shoulder, and decided to continue his little act. His face turned scared, and he started to splutter: "I- I am sorry, but I have little to nothing left for myself. B-b-but you can have it, if you please don't kill me."  
The man started to look even grumpier, and turned around when a hand tapped on his shoulder. "WHAT" he screamed, only to look up into the face of a demon with white hair, a pair of horns and  
A sinister aura. He shied back, stuttering and shaking his head. "I promise, I won't do it again" With these words, he ran past Li, who was still looking confused at the demonic woman in front of him. The mentioned grinned, and slowly turned back human. She was a slim, young woman, with snowwhite hair, which went down until her hips. A strange looking ponytail was placed in the middle of her forehead. The woman had big blue eyes and wore a long, red dress. He noticed all these things in mere parts of a second.  
"I hope I didn't scare you," she said with a smile. "But this seemed to solve this matter peacefully"  
"Thank you so much" Li answered, "Y-you saved me. I am deeply indebted to you."

Mirajane couldn't help but smile at this young man, who looked like a grateful puppy at her. She couldn't help it but feel the urge to protect him. But while he met her requirements to be called handsome, she felt that there was something off about him.  
He dissrupted her thoughts. "I live here, so if you'd like you could come up for some tea. I'd really like to repay you, but what I said earlier was actually true." he said with a smile while scratching the back of his head. "I am really broke"  
Mira could keep herself from laughing.  
"Don't worry, I wouldn't want to get payed for something like this. As for your offer for tea, I am afraid I have to decline for today, given I am running late. But how about tomorrow? Since I know where you live, it won't be hard to find you." she answered with a sheepish smile. With these words she hurried past him.  
Li sighed. The old lady from the bookstore grinned at him. "Don't worry, after all she agreed on meeting you again, and how it looks she is interested in you aswell."  
Li nodded, and opened the door leading to his staircase. After he closed the door behind him, he took another deep sigh. The old woman was dead wrong. He had invited the girl only to appear polite. He hadn't expected her to agree on his offer for tea. To make things even worse, she even knew where he lived, and appeared willing to use this information for her gain. Li opened the door to his apartment. He should have just knocked the robber out. In the end, he had gained more attention, instead of avoiding it. He undressed, and went into his tiny bathroom. Li looked at himself in the tiny mirror, and started washing himself. He looked at the emotionless copy of himself in the small, rectangle glass. If it had been bigger, Li would have been able to spectate his body, wiry and muscular. But starting from his neck, a series of scars and old wounds went down to his legs. Paying no attention to his looks, he went back into the other room and picked up his jacket. He laid down onto a tatami, and used his jacket as a blanket. A few seconds later, he drifted into a fretful sleep.

"So what is this about a new member, Macao?" Makarov asked him.  
"Well, he joined recently, just a few months before your return. His name is Li Shengshun, and he worked most of the time as our cook. An excellent one, by the way."  
"Any signs of something unusual about him? I don't want to be suspicious, but what reason did he have to join Fairy Tail? Any other guild would have been more attractive."  
"You don't have to remind me about that." Macao started sobbing.  
"Haha, don't worry about it, you did your best" Makarov laughed, and continued emptying his beer."  
"Well, to come back to the subject, Romeo found Li-san somewhere in the gutter, deaddrunk and almost frozen to death. We nursed him back to health, and one thing lead to another."  
"Ah, I see" Makarov sweatdropped. So basicly their newest member was an alcoholic hobbo. But, he reminded himself that people could change, and almost everyone in Fairy Tail had some kind of history.  
"So, where is our newcomer?"  
"Well shit" Macao facepalmed himself. "I totally forgot him during your return. He is currently on a mission, but should return anyday. The problem is that he only knows our tavern, and not the old guildhouse. I'll send Romeo to leave a message at the tavern."  
Romeo was not excited to fulfill his drunk fathers request, especially because Natsu had promised to train with him in the evening. But Romeo realized, that he was the only one who would do it, so he left the guild with a pen, a paper and a deep sigh.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 is finally here. I know it took me ages, and it is a rather short chapter. Furthermore, it won't have much action in it. I am deeply sorry, but I still have to build up the story. This chapter is rather cheerful, but I hope you like it anyways. I promise, the next chapter will be different, but will also take a while before I finish it. Work and private stuff tend to get in my way, and as mentioned before, I am a slow writer. As always, I apologize for mistakes regarding grammar and spelling. Feedback and critisism is welcomed, as long as it is cronstructive.**

 **Disclaimer: I own neither Darker than black nor Fairy Tail**

 **...**

"WE WENT BACK TO OUR OLD GUILDHOUSE, I MARKED IT ON THE MAP" was the sentence Li read the next morning when he arrived before the tavern. Together with a simple, childish drawn map, which lead him through the city.  
Li saw the huge building from far away. It remembered him of something, but he couldn't put his finger on it. As Li came closer, he noticed many people wearing the Fairy Tail sign, faces unknown to him. He also recognized the pink haired boy and the male stripper. They were fighting outside, and one chair missed Li by half a meter. He avoided them carefully, and kept his eyes on them while continuing his way inside the guildhouse. He almost made it to the door unscathed. Almost. But starring at the fight caused him to bump into a certain red haired knight. Whose cake fell on the floor. Which caused a sinister aura similar to the one Li had experienced the day before.  
The fact that another chair flew right into her face did not help at all. All of Erza's anger was now directed towards the fighting pair, who had yet to notice the demonic aura and her malicious killing intent. Li made his way into the hall, leaving the screams and sounds of people getting stomped into the floor behind. He looked around, until he noticed a familiar face in the crowd. Macao glanced back at him, and signaled him to come closer. He stood next to the counter, which had a small, old man standing on it. A few minutes, a drink and a lot of words later Li finally had an idea about the current situation. He realized, that the old members had meant a lot to Macao and the others. The usually gloomy mood had changed into one full of joy and happiness.  
"So you are the one Macao has told me about. I heard you prefer cooking over taking jobs?"  
"Yeah, kind of" Li answered with a nervous smile.  
The old mans face turned into a smile. "Nothing wrong with that, as long as it is eatable. But you'll have to talk with Mira, our current barkeeper. I am sure you will find a solution. MIRA" he shouted.  
"What is the matter ma- oh, it is you!" With these words, the young white haired woman Li hat met before appeared.  
"You know each other?" Makarov asked confused.  
"We met just yesterday, I helped him out with a thug."  
Li made an expression like his biggest wish was to sink into the floor, disappear and never come back. The others laughed at his expression, and tried to convince him that there was nothing wrong with that. His mind however, contradicted totally to his body language.  
'Damn, apparently the woman not only knows where I live, she also works with me' he thought.  
"Follow me, I'll show you the kitchen. The name is Mirajane Strauss. But friends and guild members just call me Mira"  
"Li Shengshun, but you can call me Li" he answered with a smile, and shook her hand. Li followed her behind the counter, and entered the kitchen. Compared to the tavern, this one was gigantic. Mira laughed over his amazed look. "I don't see any problem in working together, since there is always lots of work to do. I doubt that there will be any problems, and it will be an opportunity for you to get to know your savior" she finished with the same mischievous smile as from the day before.  
Li sweatdroped, and put the ingredients he had brought on the kitchen table.  
The day continued, and Li worked in the kitchen, while Mira managed the bar and food offers. Li spoke only the bare minimum of words, and Mira noticed that he got quickly lost in thoughts. From time to time his look drifted away, and his facial expression became visibly darker. She then gave him a little push, witch caused him to wake up, smiling nervously, and explaining that he hadn't slept well.  
"There is a customer who wants to meet you in person, No. 13" Mira informed him. Confused, but interested, Li went out of the kitchen with a cup of hot chocolate in his hands. The customer at table No. 13 turned out to be the red haired knight Li had run into before.  
She looked at him with a facial expression he couldn't interpret.  
"So, you are the latest member of Fairy Tail? My name is Erza, nice to meet you"  
"I am Li Shengshun, nice to meet you too" he answered politely with a nervous smile. She certainly did not look like a "nice to meet you".  
"So Li-san, it looks like we have met before"  
The confused Li started to answer: "I don't think so..." and noticed a sinister aura as well as the fact that everybody started to get away from her.  
"I gotta go, or otherwise the food..."  
"To be precise, we met this morning. You smashed my cake on the floor. You ruined my day."  
Li was gobsmacked. He did not expect someone to lose his mind over a ruined piece of cake. He had seen other people getting killed for less, sure but that was in a different time and in a different place. The people around slowly put some distance between them, fearing a fit of rage from the scarlet haired mage. Li noticed the circle of people around him, starring at them with faces full of fear and tension.  
"I-If it is so important to you, I-I can make you a new one."  
"You can do that?" she asked with a doubtful face.  
Li started to doubt his decision of joining a guild full of savages, who regarded a piece of cake as something holy mankind could only buy in a store, and apparently only had fighting on their mind.  
"It might take a while though."  
"How long? I won't wait longer than a week!"  
"I thought more of a day" a sweatdropping Li answered.  
"You can make it that fast?" she asked with a face of disbelief.  
"If you manage it that fast, you will be forgiven"  
Li turned around, his face a sign of relieve.  
A grinning Macao hit his shoulder.  
"You are the first one to survive ruining her cake unharmed. Looks like you have more in you than we first thought."  
He answered with a nervous smile, and went back into the kitchen, leaving the crowd behind.  
A smiling Mirajane awaited him. "Going for the easy way out?"  
Li scratched the back of his head. "It's not like I would stand a chance against her, and it was my fault after all."  
"Some men try to impress women by taking fights, even if they can't win them."  
"Why would they do that?" a confused Li asked. "I'd prefer staying alive over leaving an impression."  
Mirajane gave him a bewildered look. "Not every fight is serious. Look at Natsu and Gray for example. They fight each other every day, but they'd never get that serious."  
"I highly doubt that Erza would go with their rules." Li said with a grimace on his face.  
Mira stopped washing dishes for a second, then turned around and burst out into laughter.  
"Did she leave an impression that bad?" she asked with tears in her eyes. "She sure is strict, but she would never hurt someone from Fairy Tail that serious."  
"Well, maybe I am not cut out for impressing women." Li said with a little smile.  
Mirajane turned back to the sink. "We'll see about that" she mumbled with a smile, too quiet for Li to understand.  
"Excuse me?" he asked.  
"I recommend a strawberry cake. Those are pretty much the only ones she eats."  
"Matching with her hair, how convenient. Thanks a lot, I guess you saved me once again."  
Li continued preparing food for the expected demand of meals in the evening.

The amount of food consumed by the Fairy Tail members was enormous. One might have had trouble with the amount of orders incoming, but since Li was a tremendous eater himself, he had lots of experience regarding much food in a short amount of time.  
"Has it been always this busy?" he asked Mira, who kept informing him about new orders.  
"Usually only on parties and when other guilds visit. I am surprised that this many people have stayed until now. But don't worry," she assured him, "You are almost done."  
Half an hour later, she informed him that there would be no more food orderings.  
Li gave her a grateful nod, and started cleaning up.  
After an hour of clean-up, Li folded his apron and left the kitchen.  
The guild master, Erza, Mira and a few other faces Li did not know yet were standing at the bar, obviously having a good time. He walked up behind the bartender, who was currently refilling drinks.  
"Excuse me, Mira-san?"  
The addressed startled, and almost spilled the bottle of alcohol she was holding in her hand.  
"Li-san! You scared me quite a bit. Why did you sneak up on me like that?"  
His facial expression changed to nervous, and he started scratching his back head.  
"I-I-I didn't want to interrupt your conversation"  
"D-d-don't w-worry 'bout that" an apparent drunk Macao babbled.  
"You c-can always c-consult us. B-b-because you are a member of FAIRY TAIL!" screaming the last two words, he raised his refilled drinking glass, followed by the others, except for Mirajane. She listened to Li's mumbled words, nodded and waved him a goodbye.  
"Li is out for today. Said he had to get up early tomorrow, to prepare a certain someone's cake." she said, nodding at Erza, who had surprisingly understood every word, despite the amount of alcohol in her body.  
"He better will!" she said, her speech slurred by alcohol. "And it is gonna be the greatest cake ever!" Erza's head sagged down on the counter, which resulted in loud laughter from her drinking companions.

It was already noon when Macao awoke. He looked around and saw the others covered in blankets, sleeping off their hangover.  
Macao got up, and sat down at the counter, starring at Li, who acted as a bartender and cleaned glasses.  
"Finally awake?"  
Macao could only answer with a groan.  
"This might help you recover" Li said with a light smile, and placed a cup of water in front of him.  
Macao nodded grateful. One after another, the others awoke.  
Li was grateful that they had stayed peaceful. He knew that most people got violent when drunk, more than when sober, and got unpredictable. And since his phase as an alcoholic, Li had stayed away from booze. The detox combined with the smell going out from Macao and the others created a bad feeling inside of him.  
An hour later everything was back to normal. Since the demand for food was low, Li did most of the work at the counter, helping out Mira, who still had to fight with her hangover.  
He looked up to the tables and spotted Erza, who seemed to have no problem with a hangover. The two young men, Gray and Natsu, and a young, attractive blonde haired girl were sitting next to her. Li decided that he had to get over with it, and went into the kitchen. He cut the cake he had baked in the morning, picked it up and went back into the guildhall. Erza spotted him 20 feet away from her table. With a hint of uneasiness Li saw her eyes turn into stars, and her attention wandering completly of to her present.  
The small amount of time without the attention of the iron gauntlet carried by the scarlet haired knight was more than enough for Natsu and Gray to turn their argument into a brawl. The result were several thrown objects, traveling into all directions. Lucy watched horrified, how a jar flew straight into the direction of Li, and the cake he was holding. The cake dropped a split-second before the impact, together with Li, who appeared to have slipped, but still managed to catch the cake without any harm done.  
Erza managed to change her expression from horror to relief to pure anger in less than two seconds. She turned around towards the two brawlers, who hadn't noticed a thing. Lucy closed her eyes, and Li sweatdropped while the red haired woman carried out their punishment.  
A lot of injuries later, she turned back to him with an expression, as if nothing had happened, and the look of a little excited girl. Li carefully served the cake, and went slowly backwards, making room for the predator who had spotted its prey. He was already halfway through the kitchen entrance, when he was called back.  
"Li-san, wasn't it? Come back here, now!" With a sorrowful sigh, he turned around, prepared for anything. But for the first time, Li saw Erza with a relaxed, gentle expression.  
"It seems like you really have talent on this subject" she said."This is probably the best cake I have ever eaten in my life"  
"Thank you, I guess" he answered with a polite smile.  
"How about you join our team?" Erza continued.  
"We could need someone with your talents and abilities."  
"You just want him as your personal confectioner" the blonde girl noticed sweatdropping.  
"I am afraid that this is no option" a smiling Mirajane mentioned. "Li-san is currently fully occupied with his position as cook."  
"It is not like there is not enough replacement for him, right? If he wants to, he could go on a quest anytime." the knight countered.  
Li, noticing the tension between the two woman, tried defusing the situation.  
"I really like my job here. I already told Macao that I would prefer working in the kitchen. W-which doesn't mean I won't take any quests!" he quickly added. "If you don't mind, I might come back on your offer another time."  
Satisfied, Erza nodded, causing Li to sigh relieved.  
"Come to me if you are interested. And now go, before I keep you from work any longer."  
Li followed Mira back into the kitchen. He made a mildly surprised face, when she started laughing.  
"So, you not only managed to get away without a beating, but also got an invitation to join their team. Not bad for your first week, your baking skills must be superb."  
He smiled. "I still have not thanked you for the info about the strawberry cake. I guess I owe you."  
"Actually, you have. But I like the thought to have a favor left from you." she grinned mischievous.  
"And by the way, do you remember your promise about the tea?"  
"Of course, what about it?"  
Mira smiled. "Today would be nice, wouldn't it? We could leave a bit earlier, and ask Laki to take over."  
With internal teeth grinding and a nervous smile, Li nodded. "Sure, if she is okay with it."  
"I'm looking forward to it."  
Mira didn't know why she acted this way towards Li. She liked him as a person, but a part of her was also curious about him. Mira knew that he was hiding something, and wanted to understand him better.  
Li on the other hand found himself more and more suspicious about Mirajane. Her curiosity worried him, and her pushy attitude towards him confused him more and more. He had chosen to act like a pushover, in order to make himself as uninteresting as possible. Which apparently didn't throw her off. Which might result in a problem for him.  
A risk he did not want to take. For a short moment, he considered getting rid of her. But Li quickly rejected that idea. It might be a temporary solution, but on the long run it would only cause trouble, and might result in even more suspicion towards him. And after all, he had come to this place to leave all of the violence behind. Li sighed again. This day could not be over fast enough.

It was early in the evening, when Mirajane told Li that she had taken care of their stand-in, and that they could leave now. With inner resignation, Li smiled and folded his apron. But as they attempted to cross the guildhall, a huge, bulky white haired man stood in their way. "What are you planning to do to my sister?" he demanded to know. While Mira started to sweatdrop, Li could only scratch the back of his head and smile nervously.  
"I-I invited her to a cup of tea, as a thanks for her help."  
Elfman pointed his finger at him. "I won't allow you to do anything funny to her. I still need to approve of your manliness." With these words, he charged at Li.  
His attack was stopped when Mira's hardened fist crashed into his face, throwing him a few meters backwards.  
"I appreciate your worries, but this has nothing to do with you or Li-san's manliness" she said with a cold smile.  
"But nee-chan..." Elfman started.  
"Do I have to repeat myself?" Mira asked. The people around them saw with fear, how horns started to grow out of her head, as well as a malicious aura build up around her.  
Elfaman's face turned white, and he started stuttering apologies.  
Within seconds Mira turned back to normal, smiled at Li and said "Let's go".  
Li hurried to catch up with her, and looked one last time at the apologizing Elfman.  
"He is wondering if he will ever see anyone again, or if it's gonna be his last day on earth" a blue cat with wings on it's back said giggling to Natsu, who had observed the scenery like everybody else. "I wonder about that" the pink haired man answered. "For a moment, he looked estimating. But that was probably just my imagination."

"I hope my brother did not scare you" Mira said with an excusing voice.  
"Don't worry about it" Li smiled shyly. "He does appear a bit overprotective though"  
"Tell me about it" she sighed. "Anyway, let's get going. I am really curious about your apartment."  
"Yeah, about that... I only transferred there recently. There isn't much inside. Wouldn't it be better to go into some sort of cafe? My treat of course."  
"You're not gonna get around this one. I really wanna see your place and the things you try to hide from me" she laughed.  
The rest of the way they made normal conversation. But Mira noticed that he said little to nothing about himself, and avoided questions about his life.  
"Well, here we are" Li said as he unlocked the door. Curiously, Mira looked over his shoulder. She saw an empty, olive colored room. The only object was a small futon, laying on the ground. The curtains were closed, and another door indicated a second room.  
"I just settled down here, there's not much to see." Li kept quiet about the fact that he planned to leave it like this.  
"I'm gonna prepare something. Just sit down, I'll be right back."  
With these words Li left the room through the other door, leaving an awkward feeling Mirajane behind. But before she could start looking around, he had already returned with two cups of tea. They sat down, and an uncomfortable silence began to spread out.  
Li, totally unskilled at social interactions, waited for the time to pass as fast as possible. Luckily for both of them, Mira had years of experience as a barkeeper, thus being able to start and carry a conversation.  
"Nice to end work early from time to time, right?"  
Li nodded. "Yeah, the days tend to last long in the kitchen. But I enjoy them anyway" he added.  
"What made you joining Fairy Tail?" she asked. "You seem more like the kind of guy to live a normal, peaceful life."  
Li looked troubled, unsure how to answer the question. "I guess it was a coincidence. Romeo found me when I just had reached Magnolia. And you? Why is someone so powerful like you working as a barmaid at Fairy Tail?"  
"That's a long story," she started and took a sip of her tea. "Mmh, this is really good."  
Li expected no further answer, when she finally continued.

"That's just horrible," Li said with big eyes.  
"Well, it turned out just fine, but I still work most of the time as a barmaid. I like my role in the guild, and wouldn't wanna change it."  
"So, you don't go on quests anymore?" he asked.  
Mira's stare went empty. "I'm not entirely sure about it. From time to time with Lissana, but it is not what it used to be."  
They became silent again.  
"You know, you could just come with me when I join Erza and the others.  
"They seemed like an experienced group."  
She nodded. "They certainly are, since their team formed years ago."  
A look out of the now opened window told Mira, that the sun had already set.  
"Well, thank you for the tea, but I gotta go now. It is dark already, what will the other think of us?" she said, smiling slyly.  
"T-they wouldn't worry, right?" Li asked with a troubled expression.  
"I know that one is definitely worried" she sighed.  
"Oh, yes the big guy. Do you know why he acted that way? I don't think that I look twisted enough for him to worry about you."  
She laughed. "No, probably not, but he is my brother, so he worries about all kind of stuff."  
Li sweatdropped, but said nothing.  
"I'll think about the team-up thing. Tell me when you decide to go on a quest."  
He nodded.  
"See you tomorrow"  
She stopped in the door frame, turned around and gave Li a quick hug.  
"Thanks for the tea and your time."  
Outside of the house, she turned around one last time and looked up to the second floor, where his flat was located. Mira frowned. She had noticed that Li froze completely during the hug. Wondering if it was because of her or had another reason, she went back to her domicile.

Li sighed internal. She hadn't found the daggers, and hadn't been too interested in his story either. The evening had been better than expected.  
He cleaned the room, washed the cups, and after that continued experimenting with his magic abilities. This night was the first in years without nightmares keeping him awake.

"Look at this, the lady killer returns."  
When Li arrived at the guild in the late morning, he was greeted with faces of antipathy, amusement and envy.  
"Don't worry about them" Macao said and laid an arm around his shoulders. "They are mostly jealous because you pulled of something nobody managed before. You took the probably most beautiful woman in Fairy Tail home. Many of us here tried before, but nobody ever succeeded.  
So.." he said while coming closer" just between you and me. How did it go?"  
"Well" Li started while scratching his head, "we drank tea and talked a lot. B-but she did most of the talking." he added whispering.  
"So, nothing happened between you two?"  
Li's confused face was a sufficient answer to his question. More to himself than to Li, Macao continued with a pensive expression. "This is good, it might imply that I still have a chance."  
His train of thought was interrupted by the iron fist of Erza, who had made her way through the group of people around Li.  
"Enough with your daydreaming, I have to discuss a serious matter with Li-san." She took him by his arm and pulled him to her usual table, where Gray, Natsu and Lucy were already sitting.  
"I know this is sooner than you expected," Erza started "but we need two more members for a job, and there aren't many candidates left." Li took a quick look around. There were roughly 20 people in the hall, laughing and chatting. His face turned into a question mark. But before Li could open his mouth to ask the question, the blonde sweatdropping girl answered it already.  
"Well you see, most of the people here oppose to the idea to go on a quest with Erza, Natsu and Gr..." She was interrupted by a flame war coming from her guild mates, each blaming the others.  
Li smiled nervously. He was starting to see the reason for their problem.  
"WILL YOU SHUT UP!" Lucy suddenly screamed, slamming her fists onto the table.  
"This is the very reason for our problem. You guys are way too scary and destructive for normal people. We spend 90% of our rewards as compensation for the damage caused by you."  
She looked at Li. "You see, the quest is actually simple, but we need to be at least six people. And since I still need this months rent, I have no other options. This one offers the highest reward, and we need the money. Me for the rent and the others for repair costs."  
Li frowned. "But is there really no risk? Usually a high reward comes with a difficult task."  
Lucy showed him the quest. In the middle of the paper where three question marks and a bounty.  
All we have to do is observing these people, and if necessary capturing them. With Erza, a S-class mage this will be as easy as it can get."  
"But why would they ask for at least six people?" Li asked.  
Lucy's face grew confused for a second. "Well, we haven't thought about that yet, but I'm pretty sure there's a simple reason for it. So, are you in?"  
Li's face was a mask of doubt, but he still nodded.  
"Nice, now all we have to do is to find a sixth person to join."  
"About that," Li started...

"Why did we have to take the train?" Li stared at the sick looking Natsu, who was completely ignored by the rest of their team.  
"Thank you very much for taking me along with you" the little girl called Wendy said to Erza, who was sitting next to her. They had met the blue haired girl and her flying cat at the train station, and after a short discussion they had joined them. Apparently Wendy and Carla had just returned from an unsucessfull job, and were now desperate for money.  
"The more the merrier." the red haired knight waved her off.  
Li, who still looked pitying at the dragon slayer turned to Erza.  
"Are you sure he is gonna be alright?" the addressed asked. "He sure doesn't look good"  
"Just ignore this wimp" Gray's voice sounded from the other cabin. "Natsu is always like that, as soon as we arrive he gets better."  
Lucy, who sat next to Gray was still grumbling over the fact that they now had to split the reward even further. The huge amount of jewels now suddenly seemed much smaller.  
"It has been long since my last big job." Mira said to Erza with a smile. "I hope I haven't gotten rusty."  
"I doubt that. After all I have heard, you packed quite the punch at Tenrou."  
"Yeah, but that was 7 years ago. I wonder if we can still keep up with other people."  
Erza's face now turned worried, as well as Mirajane's.  
"We'll see. But it won't hurt us to be careful until we have found out." Everybody nodded, except for Li, who still couldn't take his eyes of the suffering dragon slayer.  
Their destination was a small train station in the middle of nowhere. From there they traveled two days, until they finally reached the residence of the emitter. A huge hedge was growing around the building, and protected the residents from gazes outside of the property. The house was quite big, especially after they found out that only two people where living in there. Their employer was a young, blonde woman, who called herself Laila. She lived together with her mother, and had inherited a little fortune from her father.  
"A few days ago these men showed up. They weren't particular rude, but something seemed strange about them. They asked for lodging, and we referred them to the next village, about 2 miles from here. And just before they left, they became suddenly threatening. We shouldn't tell anybody about them, otherwise people would get hurt. I suspect them to be criminals, and I don't want to put the villagers into trouble."  
"And why didn't you inform the council about this? It is noble to take the task into the own hands, but they should be informed about that." Erza said.  
"I know, but you know the council. A story this vague wouldn't pinch their interest, and it would take ages for them to act. So I figured a job with a high reward would be the better option."  
Leila looked at them with a determined face.  
Erza sighed. " Can't argue about that. We'll do it. But first we need a description of them, as precise as possible." Leila nodded eager. "My mother is rather talented in these kinds of things." She left, and came back with her mother, who was the older version of Leila, still beautiful regardless her age. From her description the team learned that the three where young men, two brown haired and one blonde. One of them had a scar over his left eye, and at least two of them had a strange tattoo on their lower arms. When the older woman described the tattoos, Li's face turned into a frown. But as fast as it had come, it disappeared again in favor of his normal, worried expression.  
Before they left, the two women invited them for a quick lunch. The dinning hall was as big as the rest of the house, and had no problem with hosting nine people. A huge table was in the middle of the room, and a few smaller ones at the wall, with different varies of food on them.  
"Luckily we still have leftovers from yesterday. It is not much, but I hope it will suffice." With these words Leila opened the small banquet.  
Natsu and the others wasted no time, and within seconds the table was filled with people and food. Li smiled excusatory at the sight of the missing manners, and sat down next to Laila. When he tried to reach for a piece of bread, his hand touched the one of the young woman beside him, causing both to splutter an excuse.  
With the Words "Be my guest" and slightly flushed cheeks, Leila pulled her hand back.  
The whole process had been spectated by Erza and Mira, who now grinned at each other knowingly.

After they had filled their stomach for the upcoming task, Laila's mother showed them on a map the way they had to go.  
"It should take you about an hour to reach the village. You cannot use the direct path, because of the rainfall in the last days, so the way will be longer with harder terrain."  
"I understand, is that all, or do we need to know anything else?" Erza asked.  
Laila and her mother looked at each other, and shook their heads. "Have a safe trip, and if you get proof that they got ill intentions, message us. The time limit is one week, if you get nothing in this time, the job is fulfilled."  
With these words, Laila adopted them.  
When the group disapeared behind the next hill, she looked at her mother. "I really hope that we were wrong. And that they will be careful. Hopefully they won't get into trouble."  
Her mother gave her a little smile. "Especially the black haired one, Li-san right?"  
Her cheeks went from pink to red in less than a second, and she smiled back "Maybe, maybe."  
'Must be nice to be this young' the mother thought, rooting in private for her daughter.


End file.
